Amusing Moby Dick rejection letter asks “does it have to be a whale?”

The video above details a rejection letter received by American novelist Herman Melville after he submitted his manuscript for Moby Dick to the editor of the Bentley & Son publishing house.

The letter, from Peter J. Bentley, outlined changes he wanted to make to the manuscript, including shortening its “vision-impairing length” and adding more “voluptuous maidens”. In one of the more amusing passages from the letter, Bentley writes:

"We were wondering if changing certain of the story’s elements might not buoy its purchases at the shop, as it were? First, we must ask, does it have to be a whale?"

This letter is read by writer and actor Hannah Lee. Hannah is currently performing as Miss Casewell in the West End production of The Mousetrap, and is developing a short film, Threads, with Enter the Pitch.